Uncover The Hidden Causes Of A Persistent Pooch
Belly bloat. You’re doing everything right but you still can’t zip up your skinny jeans.
If you can relate to the following, I may have some ridiculously easy solutions for YOU.
But first, tell me. Do you feel full after just a few bites of food? Have difficulty swallowing or feel like there’s always a lump in your throat? Do you experience chronic nasal congestion, sometimes with post-nasal drip? And what about a chronic, dry cough and hoarseness?
If any of these sound like you, then you may be a victim of the hiatal hernia syndrome. This means that your tummy is always “up” and perhaps the diaphragm muscle is torn or weakened so that the stomach moves upward through the diaphragm resulting in this problematic condition.
Hiatus actually refers to a hole in the diaphragm–your body’s breathing muscle. Normally, the esophagus passes through this muscle to become your stomach.
When the stomach is raised, it results in multi-faceted symptoms like bloating, belching, gas, hiccups, nausea and intermittent diarrhea or even constipation. A dry, tickling cough and allergies can be additional problems that are linked to this great “masquerader.”
In nearly 90% of people with hiatal hernias, GERD is a secondary symptom. Most people don’t realize that GERD is highly symptomatic of a hiatal hernia and NOT necessarily a separate condition in and of itself. GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) results when the body’s stomach acid refluxes or flows back into the esophagus creating what is commonly referred to as heartburn.
So first and foremost, if you have a hiatal hernia (or resulting GERD), you may need physical therapy or chiropractic manipulations. You can also try this self-help technique:
Drink two glasses of water on an empty stomach which will provide an anchor in the tummy. Then jump up and down 10 times on your heals to induce a jarring affect which will stretch the tummy back down into its rightful place.
Once you have dealt with a hiatal hernia, then you can begin to address other root causes of bloating and belly “pooch.”
Stop The Cycle
Step One: Eliminate Carb Culprits
A key reason for gas build-up in the tummy is inadequate digestion of certain classes of carbohydrates and sugars that are malabsorbed in a growing number of people. The gas is caused from fermentation in the digestive tract. The carbohydrates just stagnate in the gut where they are consumed by bacteria which then creates a ton of gas, and you bloat up like a balloon!
Probably the most common one that will give you the most relief quickly is lactose. It’s the main sugar found in dairy products whether they are organic or not. As we get older, many of us lack the enzyme lactase which helps to break down the lactose.
Removing lactose from your life for at least six weeks may be all it takes to deflate your pooch. I even suggest using ghee or clarified butter instead of regular butter if you’re especially lactose sensitive.
The next group to consider are the carbohydrates that fall under the FODMAPs classification. FODMAPS stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Here are the most common examples of FODMAPS-containing foods that you may want to curtail or eliminate:
Wheat, rye barley, apples, peaches, watermelon, artichokes, onion, garlic, chickpeas, beans (kidney, fava, navy, pinto), honey, corn syrup, agave nectar, tomatoes, table sugar, molasses, beer, pears, blackberries, cauliflower, sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol
Step Two: Introduce Enzymes into Your Diet
One of the most important enzymes to assist in carbohydrate digestion is the enzyme amylase. Contrary to popular belief, the best amylase-containing enzymes I have found are NOT vegetable based. Vegetable enzymes are grown on fungi and they can often interact with systemic yeast and mold conditions exacerbating an already bloated tummy. Instead, I recommend good old fashioned pancreatic enzymes. Taking these enzymes with meals will help to neutralize the detrimental effects of FODMAPS ingestion. Taking them between meals gives you the bonus of helping prevent cancer, cardiovascular, and cellulite issues. They also help reduce inflammatory responses and clean up all the gunk in the arteries, cysts, scars and fibrous tissue that you don’t need.
I recommend 1 to 3 caplets of Inf-Zyme Forte with meals and at least 2 to 4 between meals to help eliminate bloat and heal inflammation.
Step Three: Kick Candida to the Curb!
After your digestion is back on track, it’s time to conquer bloat-promoting Candida–that “fungus among us” that can overgrow due to excess fruit intake, juice and sugar over the summer.
Now that you’re going to be curtailing or eliminating many of these food culprits, clean up the rest of your gut by incorporating a simple Candida cleanse as your grand finale.
There are many wonderful natural supplements on the market these days that I’ve used in the past very successfully. These include oil of oregano, the product SF722, increasing probiotics and even the mineral molybdenum.
But, my personal favorite, and the most effective for my clients, has been a homeopathic called Y-C Cleanse that regardless of the instructions, I suggest taking first thing in the morning and just before bed. It helps to deflate a puffed-out tummy and is also terrific for fungal related sinusitis, skin conditions, and UTIs. I personally use this when I’m going to celebrating with a glass of organic wine at dinner.
It’s time to make your tummy happy! Many of the solutions to heal your gut are located in the digestive tract itself. Once you heal this, you can say goodbye to embarassing gas and stubborn bloat for life.
Do you relate to any of these symptoms? Share your story in the comments below!
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